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Best Prebuilt PCs for Gaming/VR (2023)

Finding the Best Value Gaming Desktops Under $800, $1200, $1500, $2500 (USD)

For example, if it's a particularly bad prebuilt - the type that would get a deserved roasting from Steve from Gamer's Nexus - it may include an obscure branded, unreliable, low-quality ticking-timebomb of a power supply that you wouldn't want any half-decent gaming PC to have to rely over multiple years. Or, it could have poor, restricted airflow that could lead to excessive noise, high temperatures, overheating, or worse (big bada boom). But besides companies cutting corners on component quality, there are other potential downsides to buying a prebuilt. If you're interested, see building vs buying a gaming PC for more detail. 

But not all prebuilt PCs are horrible piles of steaming scrap metal, and if you do your research there are options worth considering out there. Especially if you stick to the more trusted prebuilt brands. Despite the advantages of building your own PC, perhaps you don't have the patience to learn how to do so, and to spend the extra time needed to pick and choose each individual part. And that's okay. But if you do go down the prebuilt PC route, you absolutely must keep your wits about you, meaning do your research. Many, perhaps most prebuilt PCs are either way overpriced for what you get, or they are systems that cut a little too many corners in terms of component quality as mentioned, but also in features (eg low storage, limited upgrade flexibility, inadequate airflow, and so on).

Best Prebuilt Gaming PC Under $800 (2023)

HP Pavilion GTX 1650 Super (Amazon)

Honorable Mentions (Best Prebuilt Desktop Under $800 US)

MSI Codex R (Amazon)

Model: ‎10SC-002US

RTX 2060 6GB, Intel Core i7 10700F, 8GB 3000MHz DDR4, 512GB SSD, WiFi 6

Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i (Amazon)

Model: ‎90T00005US

RTX 3050 8GB, Intel Core i5 12400, 8GB 3200MHz DDR4, 512GB SSD, 1TB HDD, WiFi 6

Skytech Chronos Mini (Amazon)

Model: ‎ST-CHRONOSM-0326-B-AM

GTX 1650 4GB, Intel Core i3 10100F, 16GB 3200MHz DDR4, 500GB SSD, WiFi 5

Best Prebuilt Gaming PC Under $1200 (2023)

CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR RTX 3060 (Amazon)

Honorable Mentions (Best Prebuilt Desktop Under $1200 US)

Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i (Amazon)

Model: 90T00004US

RTX 3060 12GB, Intel Core i5 12400, 16GB 3200MHz DDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD, 1TB HDD, WiFi 6

CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme (Amazon)

Model: GXiVR8480A11

RTX 3060 12GB, Intel Core i5 11600KF, 16GB 3200MHz DDR4, 500GB NVMe SSD, 1TB HDD, WiFi 5

HP Pavilion (Amazon)

Model: TG01-2070

RX 6600 XT 8GB, AMD Ryzen 7 5700G, 16GB 3200MHz DDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD, WiFi 5

Skytech Blaze 3.0 (Amazon)

Model: ST-BLAZE3-0304-W-AM

RX 6600 XT 8GB, Intel Core i5 10400F, 16GB 3200MHz DDR4, 1TB NVMe SSD, WiFi 5

Skytech Archangel 3.0 (Amazon)

Model: ‎ST-Arch3.0-0180

RTX 3060 12GB, AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16GB 3200MHz DDR4, 1TB SSD, WiFi 5

Skytech Blaze II (Amazon)

Model: ST-BLAZE2-0410-B-AM

RX 6600 8GB, Intel Core i5 11400F, 16GB 3200MHz DDR4, 500GB SSD, WiFi 5

Skytech Archangel (Amazon)

Model: ‎ST-Arch3.0-0038

GTX 1660 Super 6GB, AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16GB 3200MHz DDR4, 500GB SSD, WiFi 5

MSI Aegis SE (Amazon)

Model: ‎10SI-211US

GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, Intel Core i5-10400F, 16GB 3000MHz DDR4, 240GB SSD, 1TB HDD, WiFi 6

Best Prebuilt Gaming PC Under $1500 (2023)

Skytech Archangel RTX 3060 Ti (Amazon)

Skytech have taken the prebuilt PC market by storm in the past couple of years, and by that I simply mean they're selling like hot cakes, especially on Amazon. Popularity doesn't necessarily equate to quality, but in this instance it is warranted in my opinion, as they currently offer some of the best value gaming desktops on the market whilst importantly not cutting too many corners to make that happen.

But of course, they still do that to an extent, just as any prebuilt PC company does if they want to compete, but from the many Skytech systems I've now researched over recent times (I started recommending them roughly a year ago), and having kept a close critical eye on them for a while now, they genuinely seem better than most prebuilt PCs in terms of the components they use, the overall flexibility of their builds (they're mostly easily upgradeable), and the gaming performance you get for the money. Their customer support also seems decent from my research.

Honorable Mentions (Best Prebuilt Desktop Under $1500 US)

Skytech Shiva (Amazon)

Model: ST-SHIVA-0128

RTX 3070 8GB, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, 16GB 3200MHz DDR4, 1TB NVMe SSD, WiFi 5

Skytech Blaze 3.0 (Amazon)

Model: ST-BLAZE3.0W-0211

RTX 3070 8GB, AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, 16GB 3000MHz DDR4, 1TB SSD, WiFi 5

Skytech Shadow 3.0 (Amazon)

Model: ‎ST-SHADOW-0226

RTX 3060 Ti 8GB, AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16GB 3000MHz DDR4, 1TB NVMe SSD, WiFi 5

Thermaltake Glacier 360 (Amazon / BestBuy)

Model: ‎S3WT-B550-G36-LCS

RTX 3060 12GB, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, 16GB 3600MHz DDR4, 1TB NVMe SSD, WiFi 5

Alienware Aurora R10 (Amazon)

Model: ‎AWAUR10-A188BLK-PUS

RX 6600 XT 8GB, AMD Ryzen 7 5800, 16GB 3466MHz DDR4, 1TB SSD, WiFi 6

Best Prebuilt Gaming PC Under $2500 (2023)

CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR RTX 4070 Ti (Amazon)

Specs to Look for When Choosing a Prebuilt PC

If you're new to PC hardware, here are some basic things to keep in mind about choosing a good prebuilt desktop for gaming in terms of their parts-list. There are tons of specs and features that make up a computer, but these are the key things to know if you're a gamer.

Look at Graphics Card First

For gaming and VR, the most important component of the computer by far is the graphics card (also called the GPU) since it has a huge say in what performance you'll experience. So, when choosing and comparing prebuilt desktops, first look at the GPU in the specs to quickly weed out PCs that aren't worth your time. If you want to make a smart purchase, before your hunt you should have at least a basic general idea of the modern GPU hierarchy - in other words, which cards are fastest right now, which are mid-range cards, and so on. Even computers marketed as "gaming PCs" may not necessarily have a good GPU inside, and oftentimes they include considerably less powerful GPUs than they could have included for that price. Stay on your toes and compare different prebuilt PCs around your price range to get a sense of the best GPU/s you could get in a system around that budget. See the gaming GPU buyer's guide for more.

Check the CPU

The CPU also determines the gaming performance that your new system will offer you, but not anywhere near as much as the graphics card. Most prebuilt PCs with a good graphics card will have a sufficient CPU, so unless you have extra requirements other than gaming (eg very demanding non-gaming applications such as heavy video editing, or seriously heavy multitasking) then you often won't have to worry too much about which CPU is included if you're getting the graphics card that you want.

But of course, do get a basic understanding of what CPU you're getting and what sort of tier it is in terms of gaming performance. Oh and in general, you can't go wrong with either Intel or AMD these days. In the past Intel was clearly better for gaming, but in recent years AMD caught up nicely and has even overtaken Intel in certain aspects. See the gaming CPU buyer's guide for full details if interested. 

16GB RAM is Ideal

For modern gaming, 8GB of RAM is the absolute minimum to shoot for, so don't buy a prebuilt PC that doesn't have at least this amount. However, 16GB of RAM is ideal, especially for VR gaming which are typically more demanding than flatscreen titles. 16GB will also make for a super fast multitasking machine. If you want to leave nothing to chance for the absolute most demanding games on the market now and over the coming few years, 32GB would be amazing but is a luxury and not a requirement. As for the speed of RAM, it doesn't matter anywhere near as much as the amount of RAM, but the ideal these days is having RAM with a speed of 3000MHz or faster.

On a cheaper PC, if the speed is only 2666MHz, don't worry about it. Last but not least, DDR5 is the latest and greatest type of memory, but it's so new that it's just not necessary for a modern gaming PC at the moment (DDR5 isn't much faster than DDR4 in today's games). Getting tried and true (and cheaper) DDR4 memory is absolutely fine, and still will be for at least a couple years to come. If you do want the absolute most cutting-edge tech though, and you're willing to pay extra for it, then and only then should you really care about choosing a prebuilt PC that has DDR5 memory.

Ensure it Has An SSD

These days there's no excuse to not get a SSD as your main storage drive (where your operating system and other key programs/games will be stored). SSD are much more affordable these days, so if a prebuilt PC doesn't include even a small 120GB-240GB one, then avoid that system at all costs. Any half decent prebuilt PC will have an SSD though. If you're downloading a bunch of modern games, they can be quite large so you'll ideally want a 1TB drive (500GB at the minimum).

That said, you can always easily add a secondary drive to any prebuilt PC by either installing it inside the case (if there's room) or by just using it externally (sitting on your desk). Lastly, if you're spending a good amount on a gaming desktop, you'll want to ensure the SSD it includes is a NVMe drive, which are faster than SATA drives. See the SSD buyer's guide for more on SSDs.

Check the Power Supply

One very common downside to buying a prebuilt PC is the fact you'll often be getting an average quality power supply (PSU) from a less than desirable brand. Do your research on the particular PSU that's included in the system, especially if you are buying a more powerful system. For example, you really don't want a cheap no-name PSU in a high-end RTX 3080 desktop for instance. You should also consider how much wattage the PSU has if you're considering a future upgrade of your GPU, to ensure you have enough headroom. See the PSU buyer's guide for full details.

Check WiFi and Bluetooth Support

Most higher-end desktops will have wireless functionality, but some cheaper prebuilt PCs may not. So, if you need WiFi, check the specs. If it doesn't have WiFi, you can always buy a WiFi card or USB adapter. Also, most prebuilts will have WiFi 5 ("AC"), but some have next-gen WiFi 6 ("AX") for use with next-gen WiFi 6 routers. If you have one of these latest WiFi 6 routers, you'll want a prebuilt with WiFi 6 in the spec sheet.

Same goes for Bluetooth functionality: the best gaming desktops will almost definitely have Bluetooth, but some cheaper computers may not, so if that's important to you then make sure to check the specs for Bluetooth to be listed somewhere.

Consider Cooling

Last but definitely not least, if the gaming desktop you're looking at is quite powerful, as in one that has a mid to high-end graphics card and a fast CPU, you want to ensure the system has good enough cooling for those particular parts. Especially if you want the system to run cool and/or quiet - some prebuilts don't have very effective cooling out of the box and can run hot or loud. To gauge how good the cooling is before buying, it's a good idea to read multiple customer (and professional if possible) reviews to get a sense, but never rely on just one review as gospel.

If you are a bit more tech savvy, you can get a sense of how well the system is cooled in various ways such as looking into the specific case used in the build (and how well that case is designed for airflow, eg does it have a front mesh design that allows for air to easily get sucked into the case, or is it closed off?). How many fans are included is another way to assess the cooling, as well as how good the air or liquid cooler is relative to the CPU used.

Related: How to Check GPU Temperatures (& Safe Ranges)

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